Jim Grazione, star athlete, dies at 74

BACK IN 1957, Jim Grazione was hurting. The star quarterback for Villanova University had a separated shoulder and a pulled hamstring. No way could he play against Boston College.

So, he told his pals in South Philly that since he couldn't play, they should put their money on Boston.

But the night before the game in Boston, a sports-writer friend needled him about letting a little pain keep him out of the game.

Jim, who often let his pride get the better of him throughout his life, decided to play. He wound up throwing for one touchdown and running for another, leading Villanova to a 21-14 win.

That was the easy part. Facing his friends in South Philly who bet on the other guys was harder.

Jim Grazione had a million sports stories, from his days as a three-sport star at Southeast Catholic High School, where he led the football team to the City Championship in 1954, his winning career at Villanova and a brief stint on the Eagles in 1959. He also ran track.

James Grazione, who worked as a pre-sentence investigator for the Court of Common Pleas for 31 years, part owner of several Philadelphia taverns, and a private investigator working for Philadelphia defense lawyers, died March 8 of multiple organ failure. He was 74 and lived in the Northeast, but spent most of his life in South Philadelphia.

Dating Elizabeth Taylor might give most men bragging rights for a lifetime, but Jim took it in stride. It was before the star started her series of marriages, and Jim squired her in New York City for a few dates.

They met in Las Vegas, which Jim liked to visit and where he hung out with some of the celebrities of the day, like entertainer Liberace, who became a good friend, and the comedian Pat Cooper.

It was easy to see what Elizabeth Taylor and others saw in Jim. He was a big (6-4, 220 pounds), handsome charmer.

During his high-school career, Jim also led the basketball team to the Catholic League championship in 1953 and became an All-American. In a game for the city championship, he played against Overbrook High's Wilt Chamberlain, who led his team to victory.

After high school, Jim had offers of athletic scholarships from a number of colleges, including Notre Dame.

He picked Villanova because he didn't want to travel too far from home.

As a freshman, Jim started to play basketball for Villanova, but his pride stopped him. After making six straight baskets from the center of the court in a game, the coach had the nerve to yell at him, "Get off the spot!"

That was it. Jim walked off the court and ended his college basketball career.

"He had a strong ego," said his son, Daniel Grazione. "He was a very proud man."

Jim not only played football while injured, he occasionally played while nursing the results of excessive socializing the night before.

Prior to the North-South bowl game in Biloxi, Miss., in 1959, Jim, playing quarterback for the North, got into disputes in a bar the night before with Notre Dame coach Terry Brennan, who was the defensive coach for the South team, and the legendary Paul Brown, managing the South.

Brennan got his revenge. He told his defensive team to blitz Jim on every play. The result was painful, to say the least. South won 21-12.

After graduating from Villanova in 1959, he was drafted by the Eagles, who were looking at him as a backup for quarterback Sonny Jurgenson, who was backing up Norm Van Brocklin.

But it wasn't to be. He tore up his ankle during an exhibition game with the Detroit Lions in Detroit, and that ended his pro football career. But Jim Grazione was always a football hero to hometown sports fans. "He was the toast of the town," said his son, who played football at Episcopal Academy and Columbia University before transferring to Penn, with his proud father attending every game.

Jim married his high-school sweetheart, Katherine Gallagher, shortly after college.

The marriage ended in divorce. He wed the former Susan Bryson in the mid-70s. They divorced in 1984.

Besides his son, he is survived by three grandchildren.

Services: 11 a.m. tomorrow at the A.P. Donato Funeral Home, 1522 S. Broad St. Friends may call at 9 a.m. Burial will be in Fernwood Cemetery.